Faith

“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the Promised Land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” ~Hebrews 11:8-10

Abraham is probably one of the greatest examples in the Bible of faith in the Word of God. Think about it for a second. Abraham came from a land of idolatry. The land of Ur is located around what is now known as Babylon, which was basically the hotspot of idolatry. Abraham did not have a history with the Lord nor does Scripture indicate to us that Abraham even know of God at all. One day, completely unannounced, God spoke to Abraham:

“Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” ~Genesis 12:1-3

Keep in mind that Abraham did not have a recorded law such as the Law given on Mt. Sinai (Exodus 19-24), or what we now know as the Bible. He had nobody testifying about God’s faithfulness. He didn’t see anyone work miracles in the name of the Lord. God made a covenant with Abraham, and Abraham believed God based on His Word. Something about this encounter so radically changed this man’s life that he renounced his old way of life and set on the path that the Lord told Him to go on.

So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran.” ~Genesis 12:4

It is based on his faith that God deems Abraham to be righteous before Him:

“Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness” ~Genesis 15:6

Paul picks up us this concept of Abraham being the great example of faith in God in the New Testament. Everything that God promised Abraham by human logic was impossible. Abraham was promised a child in his old age, well past the years to have children. He was promised a land that was occupied by other people. He was promised to be the father of many nations, yet had no children. But God did not just speak words to Abraham to tickle his ears. In His perfect time, God brought to pass everything He had promised. Abraham never lost faith in God. Some of the promise, such as a child, he did see. But there was still parts of the promise he never saw in his lifetime, such as being the father of many nations or being a blessing to all people. Yet in all this, Abraham still believed God and he was credited as righteous.

Paul states:

“Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be. “Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” ~Romans 4:18-24

The covenant that God spoke to Abraham is the same for those who put their faith in Jesus Christ. Keep in mind that this life will harbor many hardships. Abraham went through many hardships (childless for many years, foreign affairs Genesis 12-26). But Jesus tells us “take heart! I have overcome the world!” (John 16:33)

I pray that this blog will help you see that kind of faith God seeks from each one of us. God desires obedience, not sacrifice. Nothing we do can justify us before God. No matter how many good works you do in your life that cannot save you. Jesus Christ is the only one who can save. “There is no other name under heaven give to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12) except by the name of Jesus Christ. By having faith in Jesus Christ, your life will naturally result in good fruit for your Father in Heaven. Salvation produces good works; good works does not produce salvation. I urge you to put your trust in Jesus Christ today and don’t try to measure up to be good enough for God. You don’t have to measure up to anything. Christ measured up fully when by His sacrifice on the Cross. God gave Abraham a promise, Abraham believed, and Abraham was credited as righteous. God gave us His Son Jesus Christ, and He gave us the gift of eternal life. Now believe in that free grace that God is handing you today. Accept Jesus Christ, and watch your life be radically changed forever.

-Joey

Advertisements

Share this:

Like this:

LikeLoading...

Related

About Joey Coons

21 years old!
God is the absolute center of my life.
I love Jesus and I am passionate about my relationship with God.
I am going to school for ministry at Global University. I feel God is calling me to minister to the youth of this generation, but I am willing to go wherever God calls me.
My Bible is the source for everything.
I have learned a lot lately about waiting on God and how hard it really is. But it ALWAYS the way to go. Listen for God's voice and obey Him.
I am in an a band, Turnaround, and I love it. I am so excited to see what God does with us and I hope to uplift Christ with our music to everyone who hears us.
God has surrounded me with amazing people in my life.
You could probably say I have an obsession with music.
I have the absolute weirdest taste in music. I listen to Christian music because I want to reflect God in all that I do in life. I love almost any genre of music. Except country, you can keep that junk...
I am extremely goofy, and I mean VERY goofy
I normally don't shut up if you start talking to me, I'm a talker
Even though I never thought of myself as a reader, I actually love to read.
My main purpose for this blog is to communicate God's truth and encourage anyone who reads my posts. I pray that God will use my words that I write to speak HIs truth into the lives of others and encourage others to follow Jesus Christ.
View all posts by Joey Coons

5 responses to “Faith”

Amen! Very good article. Write some more about faith, please.
As far as the hardships of Abraham: Not much have changed= we still living in this world of sin and death. Yes, we are more blessed than Abraham has, because we have the Word in writing, we have a long history to look back at and can observe God’s faithfulness through the ages. I for one look forward to meet Abraham in heaven.
Praying for you to continue to glorify the Lord with writing or music or whatever else your hands and mind find to do. Blessings!

Hey thanks so much! I will definitely be praying and see if the Lord gives me any further words for faith. I am just really praying that God will just lead my writing and I will be able to encourage anyone who reads my posts. I thank God for giving me a love for writing and I hope to be a blessing to others! Thanks so much for your encouragement!